Businesses of every type, including virtual assistants and online business managers, need a business plan. It doesn't have to be fancy but don’t think you can skip by on this important step because you offer a service instead of a physical product. Every business can benefit from a business plan. So can yours. Here's how:

First Step, Focus.

When you create a business plan you need to focus on the reasons for the business: Who do you want to serve? What do you want to provide? When do you want to start? Where will you set up shop? Why do you want to start such an endeavor? How will you meld all these things together to create a prosperous business?

These are the primary reasons why you’re going into business and they should always be at the forefront of your mind when making decisions.

Something else to focus on is your big dream. How much money do you want to make over the next five years? Do you want to offer multiple services? Everyone’s big dream will be different but you should write it down as part of the plan.

Second Step, A Plan.

Think of your business plan as a mountain. Your mission statement is at the base of the mountain while your big dream is at the peak. Everything in between is what you need to plan and these steps should also be incorporated into a business plan.

What services do you want to offer? How many billable hours do you need to work? How can you implement some passive income or affiliate income into your business? Are there any speaking engagements or online summit opportunities that will expand your reach and your followers?

Third Step, Action Steps.

This is where your planning steps are broken down into smaller, actionable steps. Instead of just saying I want to write book ten clients by the end of the month, break the process down further. How much time can you dedicate each day to marketing? Do you want to work alone or bring on another virtual assistant to help with the workload? These are actionable steps that can easily be crossed off your to do list once completed.

Don’t be thrown off here. You don’t need to plan five years’ worth of action steps at one time. The idea is to plan a year at a time, keeping your focus in mind, so that the action steps become a pathway or a blueprint to your big dreams.

If this seems like a daunting task, sign up to download your free 2018 planner. In order to reach your goals, you need to plan them out and now is the perfect time to start looking ahead to next year. Grab your planner and start mapping out those goals!

Regina's passion is helping a new generation of virtual assistants launch their new business or take their business to the next level. When she's not working at the local ministry, blogging or tinkering with Squarespace, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching "Downton Abbey" to the point that it irritates her boys and people-watching from her front porch.